Ancient fortress of Qamcheqay

The ancient fortress of Qamcheqay is located near the village of the same name and the city of Bijar (Kurdistān region), dating back to the third millennium BC and at the time of the Medes, Parts and Sasanians was used as a strategic refuge.

This building has been restored several times in different periods and, considering the type of materials and the architectural style, it seems that the last time the Ilkhanide period underwent a total restoration.

All around the fortress, which is situated on one of the high mountains of the area, is surrounded by large boulders and frightening and deep valleys. The ruins of a huge and solid wall made of stone remains and its semi-cylindrical towers are still present.

The fortress has a secret tunnel with an angle of 45 degrees that has been dug in the heart of the stone and after descending 41 steps it comes out under the mountain. The height of the walls of this fortress reaches 200 meters and the only way of connection with the outside is constituted by a narrow passage, a true masterpiece of an artist, so much so that a person can barely pass it.

According to experts, the historical fortress Qamchaqāye of Bijar has an epigraph in hieroglyphic characters that is considered among the oldest semi-pictorial inscriptions of Iran and is comparable to the Sumerian script.